Teen

[Single-mum]

My son is 16, he is smoking marijuana daily, even though I am against it and my rules are that he is not allowed to smoke inside our home, he ignores me and does it anyway. He smokes before school, wakes up during the night and smokes it. He tells me it’s good for him. He has suicidal ideation, and I have done everything I can to help him. He sees a psychologist ,and is on anti depressants now but argues constantly that he disagrees with medical evidence it’s harmful. The school called me the other day and told me he needed an immediate intervention, and to take him to the hospital as he was saying he wanted to take his life to a new teacher he didn’t know. I tried to do this, but he refused. It escalated at home he was angry I confiscated his weed, and he smashed things around. I called an ambulance, and he ran out before they came snd went to a mates place . I don’t know what to do anymore, what consequences I can give him. He is almost 17, and works part time, so has his own money.

[Sophia-RO]

Hello @Single-mum, sorry to hear that things have been tough for you lately. It sounds like you have been supportive of your son and that you have been active in getting him the help that he has been needing. The incident that you spoke of sounded very difficult. It must have been hard for you to see your son in that state. Have you been able to discuss your son's behaviour with a support person from the school? It might be helpful for you talk with the school counsellor or psychologist as they might be able to support you and your son and provide you with some appropriate referrals.

It sounds like things have been tough for you lately, so I am wondering if you have been able to talk to anyone about what you have been through and the impacts it has had on you? Parentline is a free and confidential service for parents and carers which you can call to talk to a trained counsellor. You can talk through your concerns with them and they can help support you. SMART Recovery is another service that you might find to be useful. They offer support to family and friends of those who use drugs and alcohol, and hope to help develop more effective coping strategies.

We also have an article about managing teenagers and their drug use, that you might find to be helpful. Here is a link to the article if you are interested. I hope that you find these resources to be helpful